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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27688091">is it bright where you are?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hedgebitch/pseuds/hedgebitch'>hedgebitch</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>schumacherverse oneshots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman (Comics), Batman (Movies 1989-1997)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Gen, Movie: Batman &amp; Robin (1997), like. literally</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:02:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,155</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27688091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hedgebitch/pseuds/hedgebitch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Robin's visual feed comes through, there’s no mistaking the Nightwing insignia spread across the man’s chest—and while they’ve both opted for a subtler silver and black colour scheme, and there’s no cowl in sight, Babs would bet her ass that the blonde woman standing beside him goes by Batgirl.</p><p>written for the prompt: "the Barbaras meet each other" from @<a href="https://flamebiirds.tumblr.com/">flamebiirds</a> on tumblr</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Barbara Gordon &amp; Dick Grayson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>schumacherverse oneshots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2281796</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>is it bright where you are?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">“Batman. Batman, do you copy?”</p><p class="p1">Dick doesn’t respond. Which, normally, would be so not a problem—but the last she heard from him was ten minutes ago, a “Robin, don’t—“ cut off by a groan and a quick “talk later,” sent her way.</p><p class="p1">Ten minutes is a long time for a vigilante. But there are plenty of standard procedures that might call for radio silence—for example, rescuing an only-mildly-kidnapped, sword wielding Robin without alerting his kidnappers to the danger they’re in.</p><p class="p1">She tries to pull up his HUD, only mildly peeved to receive an error message in return—Dick has a bad habit of tossing the cowl off to the side somewhat violently when irritated. It can take pretty hard hits on a head, but it’s easy to knock the sensitive electronics inside just a little bit loose when there’s no weight to hold them together.</p><p class="p1">She pulls up his location instead, hopping onto feeds from streetlight cameras and private security systems to ascertain that he seems perfectly fine.</p><p class="p1">On screen, she finds a camera with an angle on his jaw, sees his mouth moving, and Robin’s not moving in response. Tough to tell, but it looks like he’s trying to contact her.</p><p class="p1">She sends his HUD a beacon designed for situations like this—full screen, audio and visual components, blinking for a few seconds, then for good measure, sends out one that’ll reach Damian’s too. Babs watches through the streetcams in real time as Dick catches onto the fact that his HUD is broken and Damian’s isn’t.</p><p class="p1">“Oracle, Batman’s communications have been inhibited by his incompetence,” Damian informs her over his own comms per Dick’s request.</p><p class="p1">Except—except now the HUD she’d assumed was broken is connecting, the screen filling with black without a video connection. So if Damian’s confirming that Dick isn’t able to contact the Clocktower—then who the fuck is this?</p><p class="p1">Crossing her fingers that Damian will decide her message is worthy of being relayed, she tells him they need to head back to the cave ASAP.</p><p class="p1">It seems surreal that an unfriendly—Babs takes a moment to mentally correct the Stephism back to “hostile”—would even be able to connect to their system. But if one has, then Babs has just sent them an invite to the Clocktower, which. Well, she shuts off Batman’s security permissions immediately, but just knowing the exact location of Oracle’s base is threat enough.</p><p class="p1">She switches to a portable setup as she makes her way to the manor. No sense in letting their interloper know they’ve been caught. In fact, now that she knows her contact attempts are being received…</p><p class="p1">“Batman, this is Oracle. Are you reading me?”</p><p class="p1">No response, but no indication that her contact failed, either. And then, after a second, a voice that doesn’t belong to Bruce or to Dick comes through.</p><p class="p1">“Hi, Oracle, I think we’ve got a code… do you use letters or colours? Nevermind, we don’t even have a code for this. Uh, you wouldn’t happen to be able to point me in the direction of Nightwing or Batgirl, would you?”</p><p class="p1">Boy if that ain’t a question. Well, wherever he’s from, at least he’s smart enough to know she’s not an idiot—or a computer—and that if she found him while reaching Batman, Batman’s at least temporarily off the table for help. And—damn. She’s got his location pinpointed on a rooftop in the Diamond district, but she can’t get eyes on him. That’s gonna make life difficult while she tries to ascertain if this is a trap or a case.</p><p class="p1">“You want Nightwing, you’re gonna have to head to Blüdhaven. And Batgirl’s not on patrol tonight, so I’m your best bet for help, if you’d like to start explaining why you’re on my comms line.”</p><p class="p1">“Oracle, Robin.” Damian comes through as she’s talking. “We have halted our return to prevent a minor heist at Hill and Seventh.”</p><p class="p1">God, this fuckin’ kid. Any other ten year old would just sound bored, but he makes stopping a robbery sound morally reprehensible. She takes a glance at his location and—well,, actually, she can work with that.</p><p class="p1">“Belay that, stranger, I’ve got Batman and Robin incoming to lend you a hand,” she says on the one line, then finishes off on the other. “Robin, I need eyes on Hill and 9th <em>now</em>. Tell Batman to meet you when he’s done.”</p><p class="p1">Sure enough, the promise of not working the robbery has Damian taking off in seconds, and Dick half-assing his perp roundup to avoid leaving Robin alone for any significant amount of time.</p><p class="p1">She only gets a minute’s advantage or so from Damian’s stealth, but it’s enough to confirm that she’s dealing with an amount of fuckery at least one level higher than usual. When Damian’s visual feed comes through, there’s no mistaking the Nightwing insignia spread across the man’s chest—and while they’ve both opted for a subtler silver and black colour scheme, and there’s no cowl in sight, Babs would bet her ass that the blonde woman standing beside him goes by Batgirl.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Somehow, Dick manages to get their unexpected guests to overlook Damian’s initial attack, and willingly accompany them back to the Batcave to run all the standard tests, and answer Babs’ questions in person. Babs can’t help but think she’d be more impressed by this feat if it didn’t mean they’d managed to compromise both the Clocktower and the cave all in one night, and for a relatively minor threat at that.</p><p class="p1">She’s already hard at work on the Batcomputer when they arrive, pulling up the usual suspects when it comes to universe manipulation and timeline nonsense. They comply politely when she asks them to walk her through the events of their evening, but despite the youthful glow of innocence that only folks relatively new to the scene still carry, they’re cautious with their words in a way that only bats ever really are.</p><p class="p1">And though they don’t recognize her, they certainly know their Batmen—only a few minutes in to her investigation, Faux Nightwing cuts himself off mid-sentence, and Faux Batgirl steps in.</p><p class="p1">“Listen,” she says, more of a filler than a request. “That’s not—he’s not—you’re not, like, actually Batman, are you?”</p><p class="p1">Even once she’s gotten the question directed towards Dick, she still sounds more dubious than she does concerned.</p><p class="p1">“I’m wearing the suit, aren’t I?” Dick asks, because he’s an idiot.</p><p class="p1">“Anyone can wear the suit,” Faux Nightwing points out. “But you’re not Bruce.”</p><p class="p1">“Hold up,” Babs cuts in, because up until now she was down to let everyone stay nice and comfy with their masks on, but she can already see a problem area developing now that names—or, well, one name of particular importance is on the table. “If Bruce Wayne is still Batman, then who the hell are you guys?”</p><p class="p1">Faux Nightwing hesitates a second—probably regretting his own slip up—then peels of his domino. “Dick Grayson,” he tells her, and okay. He is absolutely not Dick, but no one said doubles from alternate universes have to be identical.</p><p class="p1">“I’m Barbara Wilson,” Faux Batgirl says, and that. That is a new one.</p><p class="p1">“That’s a new one,” Dick says, then realizes that as far as manners go, he’s now backed them into the corner of having to explain. He removes the cowl, giving his head a shake. “I’m, uh, also Dick Grayson. And Oracle here is Babs Gordon.”</p><p class="p1">“Gordon?” Wilson immediately asks, while Other Dick seems more interested in the fact that his counterpart a) is Batman and b) looks nothing like him. “As in, Commissioner?”</p><p class="p1">“His daughter,” Babs confirms, because it’s not like they can’t google it.</p><p class="p1">“And you’re just, what, content to sit behind that—okay admittedly way cool—computer and let those knuckleheads run around taking credit for all the work?”</p><p class="p1">Dick winces, always more protective of Babs than she actually needs him to be. It’s a problem for another day though, and to be honest, Wilson’s misplaced indignation is kind of cute. It reminds her of Steph, the way she’s so like the girl Babs used to be, and so different at the same time.</p><p class="p1">“Believe me, none of us are in the business for credit,” she reassures Wilson.</p><p class="p1">Damian scoffs from wherever he’s snuck back into the cave, clearly disagreeing with her assessment of some of their teammates. Well. Yet another problem for another day. And based on the soft sounds of him receding back to the manor, he’s decided to agree.</p><p class="p1">“Listen, I know you’re in another universe and it’s exciting, and Dick and Dick might be the same person, but I really don’t want to find out too late that there’s a time limit for getting you guys home, or that there’s a bigger threat that sent you here. Now. You said you were chasing after someone?”</p><p class="p1">“Two Face, right?” Dick asks, unhelpfully trying to extra nice cop Babs’ already nice cop.</p><p class="p1">“We never said that,” Wilson notices. Sharp.</p><p class="p1">“I’m pretty familiar with his MO,” Dick explains.</p><p class="p1">“It was a bank heist, we were heading after goon with a bag of cash over the rooftops—the whole deal,” Wilson clarifies.</p><p class="p1">Bag of cash, Babs watches Dick mouth, clearly bemused. Wilson continues.</p><p class="p1">“He went down a street level, and I lost track of him—really for just a second, but when I turned around, I was standing on the edge of a completely different roof. We didn’t see a thing before or after.”</p><p class="p1">Other Dick fidgets a bit, and he might inexplicably be a completely different person, but Babs knows that goddamn look. She levels a glare at him, the one that usually works in response.</p><p class="p1">“Well, I saw something, I guess.”</p><p class="p1">“You what?” Wilson asks, surprised and probably a little pissed.</p><p class="p1">“It was…” he stops himself short and shakes his head, and Dick looks at her, then pointedly at one particular image up in the corner of her screen.</p><p class="p1">“Was it a small Amish boy with a cat?” he asks, Babs already dreading the answer.</p><p class="p1">“Um,” Other Dick says, which is answer enough.</p><p class="p1">“You saw an Amish child and his pet cat and didn’t say squat?” Wilson asks, incredulous.</p><p class="p1">“I didn’t think it was real,” he protests.</p><p class="p1">“You do see how that’s worse, though?”</p><p class="p1">Their bickering is interesting—it sounds more like Dick and his brothers than it does like Dick and Babs. Annnnd on that note she is not in the mood to reflect on her relationship with Dick at this moment in time, so she interrupts their guests instead, pulling up the batcomputer file as she speaks.</p><p class="p1">“His name is Klarion. He’s not actually Amish, and he’s really more of a chaos entity than a small child.”</p><p class="p1">“Tim seems pretty sure he’s both a chaos entity and a small child,” Dick points out.</p><p class="p1">“Tim also thinks Lobo qualified as a small child,” Babs points out in return.</p><p class="p1">“Well, I mean. Kid Lobo. It’s in the name, Bar—“</p><p class="p1">The second his first vowel forms wrong, she’s already cut him off with a “Don’t Barbara me.”</p><p class="p1">Other Dick sniggers and Wilson sighs something that sounds close to an exasperated “men” under her breath.</p><p class="p1">“The good news is, Red Robin and Batgirl have both dealt with him recently, and one of them will probably be able to contact him.”</p><p class="p1">She sends them both pings as she says it. Better to get yeses and nos back sooner rather than later. “The bad news is he’s incredibly annoying and might make you answer a riddle or go on a quest before letting you go home.”</p><p class="p1">“But he’ll let us go home?” is Wilson’s takeaway. Other Dick’s is a confused, “…Red Robin?”</p><p class="p1">“Yes,” Babs sighs. “Like the restaurant.”</p><p class="p1">“What restaurant?” he asks, and that’s a new one.</p><p class="p1">Before she can start into interrogating him on the chain restaurants of his home universe, an alert comes through from the manor’s security system. Babs has facial recognition running before the front door camera feed has even loaded, which turns out to be a good idea—the top two matches for the person currently knocking at the manor’s door are the cave’s live camera feed of Wilson and Daphne Pennyworth, which Dick reads out loud.</p><p class="p1">“Daphne—why does that sound familiar?” he asks.</p><p class="p1">Because she’s in both our files and upstairs photo albums, Babs doesn’t say, instead opting for “Because she’s Alfred’s niece.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh,” Dick realizes. “Shouldn’t she be, like, forty?”</p><p class="p1">“Why would she be forty?” Wilson asks. “How old is Uncle Alfred here?”</p><p class="p1">With that note, Babs catches onto what she should have immediately—Daphne and Wilson aren’t just superficially similar. While Dick and Dick don’t even share common facial features—the cave’s facial recognition software has the two girls marked as exactly identical.</p><p class="p1">She wonders idly if the League’ll still work with her if the skeleton of an Amish chaos child is locked in the Clocktower’s basement.</p><p class="p2"> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>before you say anything mean to me know that it's your own fault for clicking on batman &amp; robin (1997) fic. title is from the beginning is the end is the beginning by the smashing pumpkins, which any real fan would know is on the batman &amp; robin (1997) soundtrack. also here's a link to this fic on my tumblr @<a href="https://barbarawilson.tumblr.com/post/635607298422849536/for-the-one-shot-prompt-thing-the-barbaras-meet">barbarawilson</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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